The muddy, bloody battlefields of the Championship appear to be taking their toll on West Bromwich Albion’s promotion challenge. Ok, I exaggerate a little. The pitch at Plymouth was poor, though hardly Somme-like, and some of the injuries have been sustained in training or warm-up rather than in the rough-and-tumble of match action.Yet Albion looked like shell-shocked soldiers during a tame second-half surrender at Bristol City on Sunday afternoon.At various points during the past month, the club’s injury list has included Ishmael Millar, Gonzalo Jara, Roman Bednar, Abdou Meite, Marek Cech, and James Morrison. Throw in Jerome Thomas’s four-match ban,…
All posts tagged WBA
The Thursday Preview: Plymouth Argyle Vs West Bromwich Albion
“Are Leeds ever involved in a dull game”, Clive Tyldesley gushed rhetorically during the first half of the Whites’ televised Cup replay against Spurs last night. ITV, who have aired all but one of Leeds’ five Cup ties this season, have been fawning it up for a while now, telling the nation how every neutral in the land wants to see the Yorkshiremen ‘back where they belong’. Surely this is utter tosh, I tell myself, but this rancid sentiment seems to be gaining credence: this morning the Telegraph were equally effusive in their commentary, claiming that Leeds’ heroism had “sent…
Raiding North of the Border
Kneejerk journalism has suggested Kevin Nolan as the most accomplished performer thus far in the Championship, but as good as the ex-Bolton man’s displays have been, I for one would suggest Alan Smith as having been every bit his equal. A third name, however, might stake a claim for the accolade of the best of the best so far. What sets Graham Dorrans apart is his easy calm in possession, clockwork passing and eye for the odd peach of a goal. A fringe figure last season after signing from Livingston, the Scot has blossomed since the Baggies’ descent, culminating in…
How soon is now?
“How soon is now?”, asked The Smiths. As the dust settles on West Brom’s consecutive clashes with their two closest rivals at the top of the Championship, Nottingham Forest and Newcastle, we can ask much the same question with regard to promotion to the Premier League.Let’s start with the division’s form side, Forest. Not only are they winning consistently, but they’re doing so with a remarkable panache and flair. The debagging of the Baggies on their own turf was exquisite but in truth not much superior to the sort of performances they’ve been turning in routinely against lower quality opposition.Billy…
We’re Nottingham Forest…unbeaten away
Billy Davies is beginning to stretch credibility with the insistence that his Forest side aren’t yet ready to challenge for promotion, as the Reds sent out another clear statement of intent by brushing aside the much fancied Baggies 3-1 in last night’s Sky televised clash at the Hawthorns.Sky’s broadcast team had certainly taken notice of Forest’s recent run, devoting nearly all of the pre-match build up to Davies and giving the shortest of interviews to Robert Di Matteo, perhaps a touch unfair considering his side have been a fixture near the table’s summit all season. But this was an occasion…
P Squires: Interesting read, but '...which by train is comfortably further from L...
Lloyd: An enjoyable, snappy piece of writing Will.
Going through Worcester...
Frank Heaven: LR - yes, that's right, with Albion and Wolves being in Staffordshire....
Lanterne Rouge: Great piece Will. Of course country boundary changes do tend to confus...
Eoghan Darbyshire: Quality player, could see he was head and shoulders above the rest of...
